Officials keen for AFLW, AFL pre season content to return to Narrandera in 2023

The significant upgrades at Albury's Lavington Oval will be showed off when Greater Western Sydney take on Sydney Swans in a pre-season clash on February 25..

Wagga's Robertson Oval hosted the Giants and Richmond in an AFLW official season match and an AFL pre-season fixture in 2020. It means Narrandera, which last hosted an AFL pre-season match in 2017, is logistically next cab off the rank in southern NSW.

Narrandera Sportsground has also had major upgrades recently. A brand new club room and function area have been built alongside other amenities, while the home and away changerooms are AFL standard.

AFL NSW-ACT's community football manager, for regional NSW and ACT, Marc Geppert, said it would be ideal to showcase Narrandera's improvements to the football world.

"We've been pretty lucky over the past 10 to 15 years where we've had an informal rotation going between our three major venues (for pre season games) in Lavington Oval, Robertson Oval and Narrandera," Geppert said.

"After Narrandera's latest upgrade and the condition it's in at the moment, it's AFL standard. We want to show that venue off and the Narrandera Shire Council and Narrandera Footy Club have done an outstanding job with that.

"The reward for that is hopefully getting an AFL (pre season game) there.

"The pre-season game due for Lavington last year was postponed, so they were due one and they've gone through a significant upgrade themselves.

"It would be really nice to get one to Narrandera next year.

"But we've got to rely on the AFL's ability to deliver games regionally, in the COVID world we're living in it makes it difficult in terms of access to players.

"Fingers crossed we get another one in southern NSW next year, and we'll push for that to be an Narrandera."

Geppert said the first class facilities at Narrandera will give them bargaining power to hold another game, which would be the first since the Giants did battle with West Coast there in 2017.

"It definitely does,as once the infrastructure is there you don't have to bump a lot of the equipment in," he said.

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"Their change rooms are at AFL standard, I can't say that about any other venue in southern NSW apart from Lavington.

"There's four fully decked out changerooms there now. Hosting double headers with AFLW and AFL men's pre season games, that would be the ideal situation."

Geppert said improving lights at the region's three major venues, which would open up more fixturing options through playing night games, is the long term goal.

"Our grounds don't have the lights of a standard to be suitable for TV games, so the fixturing element is important for us to get right," Geppert said.

"Narrandera being the central point for the Riverina is in a really ideal spot geographically, and now the venue is first class it just makes sense (to play games there).

"The other thing we're dodging in pre season is 40 degree heat, and the long term plan with Robertson Oval, Lavington and Narrandera is getting the lights up to night or twilight game standard."

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